is an interpersonal communication model and an alternative approach to psychotherapy[1] based on the subjective study of language, communication and personal change.[2]
It was co-created by Richard Bandler and linguist John Grinder in the 1970s. The initial focus was pragmatic, modeling three successful psychotherapists, Fritz Perls (Gestalt Therapy), Virginia Satir (Family Systems Therapy), and eventually Milton H. Erickson (Eriksonian Clinical Hypnosis), with the aim of discovering what made these individuals more successful than their peers. [3]
Today the predominant patterns of NLP, the application of those patterns, and many variants of NLP are found in seminars, workshops, books and audio programs in the form of exercises and principles intended to influence change in self and others. There is a great deal of difference between the depth and breadth of training and standards, and some disagreement between those in the field about which patterns are and are not "NLP". While the field of NLP is loosely spread and resistant to a single comprehensive definition, there are some common principles and presuppositions shared by its proponents. Perhaps most generally, NLP aims to increase behavioral flexibility, (i.e. choice) by the manipulation of subjective experience, (either by a practitioner/trainer, or by self-application). Some of the main ideas, often copied or developed from counseling or psychotherapy fields, include:
The way an individual thinks about a problem or desired outcome in terms of visual, auditory and kinesthetic representations, has an effect on the way he or she will deal with problems and choose a certain course of action. [4]
When communicating with someone, rather than just listening to and responding to what a person is saying, NLP aims to also respond to the structure of verbal communication and non-verbal cues.[2]
The NLP meta model questioning is intended to clarify what has been left out or distorted in communication
The NLP Milton model uses non-specific and metaphoric language allowing the listener to fill in the gaps, making their own meaning from what is being said, finding their own solutions and inner resources, challenging and reframing irrational beliefs.[5]
The actual state someone is in when setting a goal or choosing a course of action is also considered important. A number of techniques in NLP aim to enhance states by anchoring resourceful states associated with personal experience or model states by imitating others.[6]
In the early 1980s, NLP was heralded as an important advance in psychotherapy and counseling[7], and it attracted some interest from researchers and clinicians. In the mid 1980's research reviews in The Journal of Counseling Psychology[8] and by the National Research Council (1988; NRC) committee[9] found little empirical basis for the claims about preferred representational systems (PRS) or assumptions of NLP, marking a decrease in research interest. While the title Neuro-linguistic programming implies a basis in neurology, computer science, and linguistics and it is often to marketed as a new science, skeptics contend it is simply a pseudoscientific or New Age form of psychotherapy.[10] Few practitioners have presented their clinical data for peer-review and most have had little interest in empirical validation.[11] NLP remains supported by its practitioners in the psychotherapy field and has influenced other forms of brief[12] and eclectic[13] interventions. Its models and tools have been used widely outside of psychotherapy in business communication, management training, teaching, executive coaching and motivational seminars.
References sourced from wikipedia
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